A Change of Time

Changing from one year to the next has traditionally been filled with ease. Those 12 bells to midnight usually go by without a sigh, without even a blink. What brings a bit more challenge are the good intentions, goals or resolutions we make with the indubitable power to throw us off kilter in the months ahead.

Thankfully, we can always count on a daily consumption of digitalization to help balance things off. Whether it is to lose weight, stop smoking, read more, exercise more or smile more – there is a website, a .pdf, a text buddy, a software, a CD, an audio book that can assess our situation, follow our progress, send us encouraging emails, link us to folks who care and even find us other honourable intentions if we run out. While personal change tends to stretch out our sense of time, digitalization shrinks it. Time often has no end in the evening when trying to avoid the chips in the cupboard. On the other hand, texting a friend for moral support can be achieved instantaneously. Yes, opposites do attract.

The management of change is often about building a comfort level in our environment that brings the appearance of time returning to “normal”. Where anxiety and uncertainty no longer makes us yearn for the past or for tomorrow – but instead are replaced by a renewed sense of purpose and confidence where being in the “present” feels good again. Happy New Year!

Season's Greetings - Joyeux temps des fêtes

Bridging Challenges

There are times in everyone’s life where challenges appear (are?) overwhelming. Even with the most optimistic of attitudes and the best plan the world has to offer, there are times when the glass just keeps overflowing. To help us make sense of our environment we often rely on friends, immerse ourselves in hobbies, collections and books - or simply pray.

I remember some time ago a good friend and colleague telling me: “This too shall all come to pass.” It was 1995 and employees of the Ontario Public Service were completing their year of “Rae Days” to enter a period of “Commons Sense Revolution”: a plan to downsize the Ontario Public Service to a new set of fiscal numbers. Well, it did pass.

I took the opportunity to relocate and try my luck at a few short term assignments to find myself in the end, quite happily self-employed. Although this period of change was incredibly difficult, I did find myself to be where I should have been all along – and yes, more challenges continue to spark me to this day.

I do hope that my children will look at challenges as a bridge to safe passage and not as a ridge between plans and results. We sometimes are either way too pragmatic or way too dramatic in our way of managing challenges and forget that in the end it’s all about getting ready for the next one.

Visible Footprints

A study of social networks in Kabul could without a doubt present fascinating results. With donors and organizations from approximately 37 countries, Kabul has become a hub of cultural diversity and global perspectives. In addition to the various ethnic groups residing in Afghanistan such as Hazaras, Tajiks, Pashtuns and Uzbeks, Kabul does manage to be home for a large community of internationals as illustrated by my colleagues working in civil service management and the justice sector from Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, United States, Sweden, Australia, Belgium, Korea,
Norway, Pakistan, India, New Zealand, Denmark, Finland, Scotland and Ireland – to name a few.

Although security restrictions in Kabul may prevent us from walking the streets; may limit us to a few select restaurants, shops, medical facilities and amenities or close us down entirely for 2 to 3 days at a time, networking is a thriving activity kept alive by mobile telephones and the internet. So as to support Afghanistan’s development, linking to a social network is absolutely essential for all internationals. It helps co-ordinate our work, avoid duplication, leverage development efforts and instil some continuity and progress over the years. With each international having connections to other social worlds - mostly in their home country – the connections made in Kabul also introduces us to new ideas, knowledge, opportunities and incredible possibilities.

Although perhaps unnoticeable and rarely acknowledged, the day to day interactions, the exchange of experiences, the interpretations of events, the exposure to various languages, cultural patterns, mannerisms and beliefs do have an impact on each and everyone of us – no matter how loose the network connection; no matter how brief the encounter and no matter how much we believe that this adaptability is just a temporary thing. Actually, in my opinion, I suspect that what we do to adapt broadens our thinking permanently.

Although social networks may be invisible to the eye – they do leave visible footprints.

The Fourth Estate

Journalism is said to be a critical component of a “civil society” – a term used to distinguish societies which allow for collective action around shared interests, purposes and values without threat, intimidation or retribution. Contributing to this emancipation of a society are institutions such as the Kabul University. The Faculty of Journalism (14 faculties in total) is one of the oldest at the Kabul University. Next year, it will be celebrating its 45th anniversary. Other journalism and communication departments exist at Balkh University, in northern Afghanistan, and Herat University in the western part of the country.

To summarize, we are provided with 3 newspapers written in English in Kabul:

The Kabul Times: established in 1962, was the first English language printed newspaper in Afghanistan. One of the stories in Thursday’s paper includes an announcement that Dr. Abdul Latif Jalali, one of the country’s greatest journalist, died at the age of 81 on October 13th. He was a lecturer at the Kabul University, worked on National Radio and TV as newscaster and political analyst, all in Afghanistan.

The Daily Afghanistan is the first independent English newspaper throughout the history of Afghanistan, published from Kabul and available for 10 Afs. (.25 cents CAN). The circulation of this paper is 7000 and it is distributed to 32 (out of a total of 34) provinces in Afghanistan. It is also published in Dari – a language spoken mostly in Kabul and in northern provinces and Pashto, a language spoken mostly in southern provinces. Dr. Hussain Ali Yasa is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief.

The Afghanistan Times provides Afghan World News from a comprehensive international network of journalists. The editor, Mr. Ali Ahmad Pasoon produces the only coloured newspaper in Afghanistan containing local, provincial, sector and international news and events. Thursday’s paper highlighted everything from the Global Hand Washing Day events to protect people from diarrhea and pneumonia to a seminar on Peace and Conflict Resolution in Islamic Thought to overcome the violence of war years and make a “peaceful sphere”.

Seeking Simplicity

Simplicity is essential when entering a period of change. We reduce, abbreviate, merge, categorize, breakdown, centralize, divide, codify, graph, model, synthesize and generalize – all with a view of building a common thread of understanding of where we are, where we want to go and how we will get there. Framing a change in simplicity facilitates performance.

However, there are risks to seeking simplicity:

Where we are:
Surface surfing: Seeking simplicity can result in a collection of information that muddies the waters and brings the analysis to false conclusions. To reach the quality and quantity of information required is to know how to manage tensions between simplicity and complexity.
Fear factor: Seeking simplicity often caters to information on what should be heard instead of what needs to be heard. Informants fear change or the truth and their repercussions; collectors fear scope creep and often cannot see what they can’t recognize. Ostensibly, the information collected is easy to explain but nevertheless, erroneous.


Where we want to go:
No appetite: A diet of simplicity will not nourish engagement. If there is no leadership engagement, there is no traction for change and things will stay as they are no matter how effortless the solution looks on paper. Simplicity does not replace belief in a vision.
Easy fit: Simplicity will not have built in comfort. Change pushes people outside their comfort zone no matter how simple it looks. Simplicity does not replace empathy.


How we will get there:
A frame is just a frame: Framing implementation in simplicity doesn’t mean that the implementation is simple. It will bring resistance, realignments, additional costs, skill gaps, and all that change incites within and around us. To quote from historian and philosopher, Mr. Will Durant "Change is certain; progress is not.”
Less is not more: Removing complexity does not necessarily bring about an under expenditure. The costs of any change are not regulated by complexity but rather by “readiness” to change.

A Successful Walk

Thanks so much for your support! We had a wonderful day! I am certain that it will make a great difference to those who have fallen victim to this disease or who might in the future...

In Canada, one in 70 women will get ovarian cancer. Each year 2400 Canadian women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer and 1700 die of the disease annually, making it the most fatal gynecologic cancer. Even though the statistics surrounding the disease are bleak, the good news is that when diagnosed in the early stages, the long-term survival rate is up to 90%. Funds raised through the Winners Walk of Hope will go to supporting women living with ovarian cancer and their families, educating well women about the disease and funding ovarian cancer research.

If you would like more information about Ovarian Cancer Canada please visit www.ovariancanada.org or for more information on the Winners Walk of Hope please visit www.winnerswalkofhope.ca Thanks again for your support.





Your donation to the Winners Walk of Hope on my behalf is greatly appreciated!

Diane

HRSB Concepts Inc. Announces New Website

Dear Colleagues,

I am very pleased to announce the new HRSB Concepts Inc. website which was officially launched August 1, 2008. The website has a new modern look with simplified navigation, a collaborative software for clients, a time zone world map, a photo gallery, updated links, a featured book every month and of course a matching theme for the weekly blog.

The site also provides a sign up to a quarterly newsletter which will feature topical subjects of interest to clients and colleagues to complement resources and tools available on the website. The first issue is scheduled to be released September 1, 2008. Featured articles, photos and tools will continue to be added. Plans are to include articles written in French in early 2009.

This bold, freshly designed site (www.hrsbconcepts.com) provides information about specialized consulting services in strategy and accountability, performance management and employee development, integrated business and workforce planning, recruitment and retention and succession planning.

One of the main features of the new Web site is a secure collaborative software available to HRSB Concepts clients called Basecamp http://www.basecamphq.com/index which offers a novel approach to project collaboration. Projects can be supported by charts, graphs, stats, or reports, and a series of tools tailored to improve the communication between people working together on a project – no matter where they are located.

I hope that you will visit our website regularly and that you and your colleagues will find it a useful workspace and reference point.

Winners Walk of Hope

This year HRSB Concepts Inc. is participating in the Winners Walk of Hope, a remarkable event designed to create a sense of community for women living with ovarian cancer and their family and friends.

All funds raised through this event support Ovarian Cancer Canada's mission to: support women and their families touched by ovarian cancer, educate well women and healthcare professionals and to fund ovarian cancer research. It's a day filled with hope and support, creating a greater awareness around ovarian cancer. To date, the Winners Walk of Hope has raised over $3million.

For more information on Ovarian Cancer Canada's many programs, please visit www.ovariancanada.org Secure online donations can be made with your credit card and an official charitable tax receipt will be sent to you by email within five minutes! You can make an online donation now:

http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?SID=1902194

For more information about the Winners Walk of Hope, or to join us on Sunday September 7, 2008 at 9am, please visit www.winnerswalkofhope.ca

Thank you for your generous support!

Diane

New Orientations in HR

There is much talk about organizational alignment and the need to cascade strategic goals down the hierarchy. However, there is still limited attention given to reverse cascading: an alignment led by individual employees. Practices that focus on the development of operational standards or far reaching strategic objectives is no longer enough – especially as recruitment and retention become more and more of a priority. Innovative human resources practices that recognize the needs of individuals to stimulate superior performance are gaining importance.

This new orientation does not necessarily have people climb ladders to manage their career or deal with steps to calculate their salary, but rather provides a very different reference point that seeks to redefine the relationship between the individual and their workplace. Recently I came across a couple of novel human resources practices that did just that:

The North Broward Hospital District information services department came up with a compensation system for their information technology business unit that replaced their ladder with a personal dashboard. It is called career banding. Individuals within the career band groups are paid according to their competencies in a number of areas such as technical skills, problem solving skills and people skills as opposed to a set of position-based factors attached to narrowly set pay scales and steps.

The Finnish company, Nokia, maker of cell phones has engineered a way to design meaningful and fulfilling jobs by setting up highly "modular" structures so that instead of moving people around, they move teams around, thereby capitalizing on working relationships that have proven to be working well for its members – and in so doing reduce the amount of anxiety associated with difficult projects.

There are many more such breakthroughs and I’ll try to highlight some of them in future blogs. In the interim, if you have a few you would like to share please feel free to contact me or attach a comment to this blog.

A Tribute to Hadi

Every once and a while you get to know people that mark your path. They inspire you, change you, share interests with you or bring hope where little exists. Such is Hadi. Barely 25 years old and fully bilingual (Dari and English speaking), he is not only my driver in Kabul but he is also the person I count on for identifying when car and radio repairs are needed; where best to go for medicine and other supplies; how best to get to a destination and avoid bottlenecks - but mostly for taking daily precautions for my safe passage while travelling on the city roads of Kabul.

Six days a week we set off to various work locations – and we talk. Conversations with Hadi connect me with life in Kabul and the effects are like drops of water on a dusty counter top. He explains historical events and cultural norms, he gives me a few more Dari words for me to practice, he informs me of National Holidays and local Afghan news and events; helps me plan my daily travel needs and at times, even supplies me with a scarf to cover my head when mine is still at the guesthouse.

It is also during this time that he often shares with me little tidbits of information that sparkle my day. Here’s a bit of Afghan folklore according to Hadi.

1. If you cough while drinking – someone is thinking of you
2. If your right eye twitches – you will get good news or someone from far away will come and visit
3. If your left eye twitches – you will get bad news
4. If there is a tickle in the palm of your hand – you will receive riches

...and riches are indeed made up of people who mark your path.

The 3 C's

Once more I have come to the end of an assignment in Kabul. To cap it off, I thought I would share with you what I call the 3 C’s of civil service reform: Change management, Capacity building and Cultural dynamics.

Change Management is comprised of approaches, processes and techniques most commonly referred to as change management “tools” that facilitate the acceptance and integration of new ways of doing things. These tools might help create new structures, competencies, processing systems, policies and leadership within a civil service; they may either create traction for change, mobilize for change, reduce resistance to change, and even keep the change long enough to see it improve over time. The management of change is not a “one size fits all” therefore it is important to explore the wide array of “tools” available to organizations to ease their change effort. I would like to recommend a change management book written by one of my favorite authors, Lynda Gratton. The title of her book is: “Hot Spots: Why Some Companies Buzz with Energy and Innovation - and Others Don't”.
Similar ideas also exist in W. Chan Kin and Renee Mauborgne’s “Tipping Point Leadership”.

Capacity Building: Yes, the knotty capacity building makes its way at the top of reform work priorities. Here, it refers to the institutional and individual development that must occur to improve or alter results produced by a civil service. Let me emphasize that it is not just about “training”. Too often we see resources and time dedicated to this activity without any effort put into establishing the framework within which individuals will practice what they have learned. Developing a capacity building strategy must take into consideration everything that needs to be changed in order to bring about different results. This strategy should make reference to the systems, performance goals and indicators, the operational processes, the policies, templates, methods of communication, relationships… and the form they should take to produce desired results.

Cultural Dynamics: We all have a pair of lens through which we see our world and changing the colour of these lenses can be an incredible process of concessions, negotiations and assimilation within individuals and across groups. Bringing changes to a workplace often challenges beliefs and values held by a “culture”. Cultures are everywhere. There are national cultures, ethnic cultures, organizational cultures, regional cultures and generational cultures – all of which have their own set of values and beliefs. They may have the potential to move mountains or build walls. Learning how to work with diversity to plan and build a reform can make a great deal of difference.

To explore the world of cultural diversity, here are a couple of my favourites:
Riding The Waves of Culture: Understanding Diversity in Global Business by Fons Trompenaars

International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior by Nancy J. Adler

As well here is a great website produced by Citizenship and Immigration Canada
http://www.cp-pc.ca/english/index.html

A Silky Connection

Once the threat of cold weather is decidedly over and the picnic season is well underway, the mulberries make their apparition in Afghanistan; falling from attractive mulberry trees to adorn the ground with a pearl white, lace pink or dark purple hue. According to local experts, the mulberry is a primary fruit crop, originally brought to Afghanistan to support a highly specialized silk industry.

As it turns out, the sole food source of the silkworm is the leaves from the drought resistant mulberry tree. The silkworm cannot survive without the mulberry tree, producing an intimate connection and finest example of one species’ complete dependence on another for its existence. In Afghanistan, it also provides an example of how a society can benefit from such symbiotic arrangements.

While delicious fresh or dried mulberries are sold at the local bazaars in Kabul, the delicate work of collecting cocoons from the mulberry tree and producing silk by hand continues in cities such as Herat situated in the northwest part of the country. According to Wikipedia, mulberry silk is the finest and the most valuable variety of silk.

Photos from left to right: Afghan picnic summer 2006; Safi the Chef at Justice Sector Guesthouse June.08; Dish of mulberry June.08; silk scarf woven by master silk weavers in Kabul using ancient silk route traditions and purchased at the Zardozi shop, Kabul, Afghanistan.

Packaging the Machinery

The training function within a civil service at any level of government can be a complex machinery. For example let us look at training delivery mechanisms. There are centre-of-government institutions dedicated to training and education; ministries or departments with their own specialized training programs; institutions with training mandates at the sub-national level as well as elaborate multi-partnerships with educational institutions, associations and the private sector. Yes, governance and delivery models abound.

So, when asked by clients, especially in developing countries, to conduct training needs assessments, develop training strategies or create new training programs effort is made to consolidate and understand the training “machinery” of government. This helps build standardization and compliance while hopefully strengthening what works best within this machinery.

Here are its three main components:
1. Policy development: training legislation, policy framework, content of policy, policy making process, governance and delegation of authority.
2. Policy implementation: extent of the “training” practice within government, systems, processes and tools to implement within and across institutions.
3. Policy evaluation: accountability framework, approach to risk assessment, monitoring and evaluation and continuous improvement.

Photo: Government of Laos, Vientiane, Laos 03.05

The Most of Posts

After a year and a half of blogging I have noticed that my entries are either regarding the work or the work location. After some thought, I have decided to add a small indicator to my posts for easy reference.

The FarsidePost will contain information regarding the work location. As in the past it will focus on interesting information about the people, their culture and their experiences.

The InsidePost will focus on the work I do – ranging from wide-scale civil service reform to small scale organizational diagnosis. It will include advice, brief guidelines and helpful hints to facilitate the development, implementation and sustainability of workforce management changes in the public sector.

I hope you find them useful. My website will also be upgraded shortly. Stay tuned for further announcements.

Leaping for Clarity

Large scale organizational change often brings leaders with a slight moment or two of puzzlement and obscurity: the landscape appears to have a new look that is neither shaped to what it was nor modified to what it should be. Here are a few suggestions that may help to bring clarity:

1. The balance between consistency (operational expectations) and innovation (change) is difficult to maintain at a level where both will be satisfactory. For careful monitoring, operational indicators should be reviewed against targets and milestones set for change projects to ensure an adequate balance is maintained throughout the change.


2. Reporting on what was achieved often does not take into account how it was achieved. More precisely, are the change activities implemented in a manner that align with the desired cultural values and beliefs? This can be critical to an organizational change that largely depends on a change in culture.


3. Not being able to see the forest through the trees happens when a change is driven by a passion that blurs the world around us. Relying on a change management team excelling in objectivity, rigor, humility and fastidiousness is an absolute must to bring executive snapshots cabable of feeding change efforts with a daily regimen of clarity.

In the midst of it all there is always something that brings to life achievement; often in the place you least expect it. This toad hiding in this barren land is proof enough.

Photo: Vientiane, Laos, April, 2005.

Know your Wheels

Carrying the past into the future is often fraught with fear by organizations undergoing change. Some leaders believe that putting too much emphasis on the past promotes values and beliefs that may curve innovation; tighten perspectives; limit opportunities and nurture emotional dependence to things that no longer fit. To some extent, this may be true –but not always. .

There is often times a pearl with perpetual clarity and lustre, despite numerous changes around it. The wheel is certainly an example of this. Across the ages this rotating circular device has continued to support, drive and facilitate creativity while in a larger context, meeting a most basic economic need: that of transportation.

It is up to organizations to identify and build from devices that will stand the test of time; from inventions or inventors that will continue to shape the organization’s history. Change can forge ahead and progress can embody brilliance even more so when key contributors to an organization’s success are identified to build a better future. People, systems, products and relationships should be assessed for their ability to be the catalyst for change as opposed to a target for change. This will contribute to easier changes and better outcomes. In short, know your wheels.

Photo: Driving to work in Kabul, Afghanistan. February, 2008.

Tinkering at the Borders

Most of the time we only see what our world brings: the son’s hockey game, the daughter’s dance lesson, the odd training event at work, the favourite restaurants, the early morning traffic, the three meals a day, the weekly trip to the bank, the visit to the local gym and the pre-programmed radio and television channels.

This world is our theatre – the place where we get to interact with the rest of the world in a manner that we were taught it should be. Providing consistency, assurance, and yes – comfort – because all is how it should be. The theatre provides a platform of enduring content unifying environment with expectations, building in us a fairly consistent view of the world. This theatre provides a stage with borders that we rarely tinker with; but when we do – the view does change and we grow.

Recently, in a conversation with a colleague, I was told that there was a mid-day event planned at the Canadian Guesthouse in Kabul. Normally my day is dedicated to a few meetings, time at the computer, a phone call at home, a Dari lesson and a brief exercise session. But here was an opportunity to tinker at the borders – so I expressed an interest and was graciously invited to attend.

The event in question was a party of sorts for a group of Afghan orphans ranging between the ages of 1 and 15 years of age. Most were girls and all liked to play, very much. So I wore my flats and spent a wonderful hour playing ball with several girls. My work with the Ministry of Justice took a different meaning – reminded me of who this work was for. It strengthened my resolve and launched new perspectives - all while making very special friends. Here are a few pictures of the event.

Eye Catching Change

Each time I complete an international assignment in a developing country my perspectives and beliefs change a little. Change is inevitable with exposure, experience and exchange involving new cultures and extraordinary economic and social realities. As we have all witnessed, change occurs in many ways. Here are four that have recently caught my eye:

1. The Organic Growth: creating change that begins and is sustained from within – it is scrupulously homemade, created with ingredients that require no explanation, instructions or special tests. It is the least invasive and the most welcomed, comparable to a smile on a tired face.

2. The Cosmetic Cover-up: creating a layer of change that unintentionally or intentionally hides what is not changed and perhaps the cause for dragging you down. It would be comparable to painting the visible part of an iceberg pink and believing that the remaining 90% located under the water is also wearing pink.

3. The Magic Code: Same input – same output. Change will happen when the input is different. Less food - less weight; more spending - less savings; less cold - more heat; less stress – better digestion. It takes a magic code to build commitment to change the input and meaningful outputs to keep it going.

4. The Boiled Frog: According to Dr. Linda Duxbury, one of Canada's leading workplace health researchers, if a frog jumps into a pot of boiling water it will jump out. But if a frog is sitting in a pot of room-temperature water with the heat turned up gradually the frog will remain until it is too late to escape. Gradual change – good or bad – is sometimes unnoticeable to the senses – and this sometimes can be a bad thing regardless of whether you are a frog or not.

Photo: Northern Elephant Seal (Mirounga angustirostris), California Coast, March, 2008

Happy International Women's Day!

This is a tribute to all women who through their generosity have contributed to other women's development; but mostly to the millions of courageous women around the world who have improved their lives by working with them.

Visit: http://www.internationalwomensday.com.

Walk on By

Their dress is as unique as their culture. They all have a story to tell and we too often walk on by.

Engaging Minds

This morning I woke up with the sound of helicopters hovering just above our heads. It made me think of the opening to the TV program, M.A.S.H. – but without the background music. Indeed, there is a constant buzz of insecurity fluttering in the psyche of people in Kabul.

Non Governmental Organizations (NGO's) have played an important humanitarian role in Afghanistan - and yes, helping people to forget about overhead helicopters is part of it too. By November 2003 there were more than 1,600 NGO’s registered with the Government of Afghanistan and the number has been steadily growing. Their mandates range from producing jobs to overseeing production; from building bridges to restoring buildings; and from exposing smiles on concealed faces to resealing wounds from exploding land mines.

In recent discussion with colleagues and friends, I have been introduced to a couple of NGO’s, both of which have a book describing a story about Afghanistan:

Turquoise Mountain Foundation: Led by CEO, Rory Stewart Turquoise Mountain specializes in urban regeneration, business development, and education in traditional arts and architecture. They seek to provide jobs, skills, and a renewed sense of national pride to Afghan men and women. Book: Places in Between by Rory Stewart at Amazon.ca

Kabul Beauty School: Created by Deborah Rodriguez, born and raised in Holland, Michigan, the school provides a haven for women to share their stories, heal, strengthen and carry on. Her book describes what it takes to launch and run an NGO in a war torn country. Book: Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil by Deborah Rodriguez at Amazon.ca

Photos taken in Kabul in 2008

Capturing Hearts

With three weeks left working in Kabul and the uncapping of St. Valentine’s Day around the corner, I cannot help but share my craving for family and friends in Canada. Back at home where temperatures have reached the -40 C, sending heaps of warm loving thoughts is quite timely and a great way to workout the sags and swells of the heart.

To no surprise, working overseas for prolonged periods can be heart wrenching for the international worker, regardless of the degree of harmony and attraction existing between the people, the work and the international worker. Thankfully, there are several computer aided telephony options and of course the internet to keep in touch.

Still, international workers stationed in Kabul have found many other ways of coping with the separation from their families and the isolation caused by the frequent restricted mobility alerts. Some internationals partake in a Kabul “Hash”, some play Frisbee in secured areas, learn how to read, write and speak Dari, pursue their distance learning programs; while others workout at gyms located in their guest house or local compounds. There are also evenings for card players; trivia question night, karaoke competitions, and the odd shopping excursion on Chicken Street.

By having more freedom and involvement with community based grass roots projects, some internationals working for Non Governmental Organizations have the opportunity to expand - quite gracefully - the breathing space available in Kabul. (to be continued)

Photo taken by Sophie Swire February, 2008.

Springing a Meltdown

The Meeting Chart

For the Good of the Country

On my first assignment in Afghanistan in 2004 I met a high spirited Afghan expatriate who had been given a central role in the government’s civil service reform. His young family had remained in the US while he was running between donors and government, dancing his way through project deadlines and stepping in as translator when business couldn't take place otherwise. With 9 and half hours ahead of his home town, he would “Skype” his family daily very early in the morning and end his day quite late in his office working on a few select pet projects. On rare occasions he would agree to attend a picnic just outside Kabul with his close friends. Only then would he take the time to relax a bit. Shortly after the last plate of food had been emptied and carried away, he would sit back on his cushion and have a cigarette or two with his green tea. It is at about that point when he would somehow find a brilliant place in the conversation to say: “For the good of the country!”

I often think about the commitment and energy displayed by the people who work for Government organizations in Afghanistan. In Kabul, an entire department will often be given a small office to accommodate its employees. Many of these offices have no heat, no cabinets to put papers, very few free chairs, no computers, little lighting, broken windows and no guarantee of electricity. Yet, everyone in that department will begin their work week Saturday morning and end it Thursday afternoon to enjoy their 1 and a half day weekend. Yes, it is indeed an honor to work with these people against all odds for the “good of the country”.

The Journey

On occasion, we have colleagues who share their experiences working in the more secluded regions of Afghanistan. Panjsher (The Valley of Five Lions) is one of 34 provinces in Afghanistan. It is known for its valley which joins the eastern and western borders of the province. Home for more than 300,000 Afghans Panjsher has the potential of becoming a major center of emerald mining as well as a unique experience for those who enjoy the awe inspiring peaks of the Hindu Kush.

In the months of January and February this region is marked by extremely cold temperatures. Nevertheless, you will find that people walk in sandals with no socks, throw snowballs with no mittens and wear the traditional light cotton pants. It would appear that living in the mountainous regions of Afghanistan not only requires extreme resourcefulness but also remarkable resilience.

In effect, it is truly bewildering how the Afghans manage to cope with this harsh climate and the poverty that surrounds them. The experiences shared by my colleague of the people living in Panjsher is but a simple wintry example of how very little we understand these people and their ability to survive. Clearly, a journey in this country only truly begins once you understand that you don’t.


Photos taken by Mr. Robert Aguirre January 20, 2008.

Taking the Plunge

Most of us have heard of interval training – especially at this time of year when gyms are filled with people who seek to lose the extra pounds amassed during the Christmas season. Wikipedia defines interval training as repetitions of high-speed/intensity work followed by periods of rest or low activity. Interval training is not just for people who wish to get fit or lose weight – but also for organizations who wish to progress or eliminate inefficiencies.

Oftentimes organizations intuitively adopt interval training approaches to development. It is as though people need to catch their breath between “high intensity” periods of change in order to whet desired results. The period of rest or low activity most often occurs between getting on the plank and taking the plunge; or more specifically, between the development work and the implementation.

An interesting true story was shared recently demonstrating that continuous long term high intensity change can be quite counterproductive. A Senior Official of a prison department made a public commitment to move inmates to a new prison on a specific date. Although the construction was not completed he stood by his promise and relocated the inmates to their new abode. Unfortunately, the Correctional Officers could not tell the difference between the hammering of construction and the hammering of inmates pounding a hole. Guess what happened next….


Photo: Taking the Plunge - Scuba Diving in Cancun 2007